Automobile Engineering

Module 6

Cyril J
 Contents
❖ Aerodynamic drag
❖ Aerodynamic lift
❖ Car body drag
reduction methods
❖ Aerodynamic lift
control
❖ After body drag
 Aerodynamics
❖ The study of the properties of moving air and the interaction between the air
and solid bodies moving through it.
❖ This is important factor to be studied and considered for a body moving in or
through a air / gas mass
 Importance of Aerodynamics for a vehicle
❖ This makes car more safer and fuel efficient
❖ Aerodynamics of a car is important for high speed cars
❖ Cars can also generate lift, if it is poorly aerodynamically designed then it
affects safety of passenger
❖ Aerodynamic designing include cars body shape and also positioning of
various parts in the car (engine, driver, gearbox….etc)
❖ Aerodynamic designs help air to flow through the car without making any
difficulty for the vehicle to travel
❖ Some components are used for smooth passage of air flow (diffusers) and
reduce the resistance force (drag) while some other components are used
for reducing the lift (spoilers)
 Objectives of improvement of flow past vehicle bodies

❖ Reduction of fuel consumption

❖ more favourable comfort characteristics (mud deposition on body, noise,
ventilating and cooling of passenger compartment)
❖ improvement of driving characteristics (stability, handling, traffic safety)
Vehicle aerodynamics includes three interacting flow fields

❖ flow past vehicle body

❖ flow past vehicle components (wheels, heat exchanger, brakes, windshield)
❖ flow in passenger compartment
 Basics of aerodynamics
❖ As an object moves through the atmosphere, it displaces the air that
surrounds it. Then the object is subjected to gravity and drag.
❖ Drag is generated when a solid object moves through a fluid medium such as
water or air. Drag increases with velocity -- the faster the object travels, the
more drag it experiences.
❖ a = (W - D) / m
➢ (a= acceleration due to gravity, W=weight of the body, D= drag force and m=mass)
❖ As velocity increases, drag or resistance too increase and there comes a
point, where W=D and vehicle does not moves.
❖ As an object accelerates, its velocity and drag increase, eventually to the point
where drag becomes equal to weight -- in which case no further acceleration
can occur.
❖ This means that as the car travels faster and faster, more and more air
pushes against it, limiting how much more it can accelerate and restricting it
to a certain speed.
❖ An important number -- drag coefficient is used to design vehicles
aerodynamically. Its a dimensionless number
❖
❖ lower the CD, the more aerodynamic a car is, and the easier it can move
through the wall of air pushing against it

Coefficient of drag for Various shapes

Evolution of aerodynamics of a car
 Vehicle attributes affected by aerodynamics
1. Performance and fuel economy
a. Fuel consumption is based on efficiency that's needed and this depends on the drag force
b. Reduction in drag is effected is in three fold
i. Fuel efficiency
ii. Increased Acceleration
iii. Increased speed
2. Handling
a. Resultant aerodynamic force have six degree of freedom
b. Flow over vehicle moving in still air is symmetric about vehicles plane of symmetry
c. Lift, Pitching moment and Drag are the aerodynamic components
d. Special measures needed to avoid the lift force becoming positive
e. Reduction in tyre load is disadvantageous to handling
f. Pitching moment is more dangerous than change in lift (change in vehicle load in front and
rear)
g. Increasing speed results in negative pitching moment (nose down)promote oversteering
3. Crosswind sensitivity
a. A rolling momentum, side force and yawing momentum is produced
b. Drag, lift and Pitching momentum change (increase)
c. Yawing moment (z-axis momentum) and side force is significant
d. Yawing momentum is really unstable and that will twist the vehicle
e. That's a reason to move engine from rear to front of vehicle
4. Functionals
a. Forces on body parts (thin panels of hoods, doors)
b. Wind noise
c. Body surface water flow and soiling
d. Interior flow system
 Aerodynamic Drag
★ Drag is of two types
○ Pressure Drag
○ Friction Drag/Viscous Drag
★ Drag is defined as the opposing force created by a fluid when a body pass through
★ In vehicle design pressure drag is the one that's more concerned
★ In aerospace design its friction drag/viscous drag that's more concerned, Boundary
layer creation is happening
★
★ Pressure drag
○ Pressure drag is caused by the air particles being more compressed (pushed
together) on the front-facing surfaces and more spaced out on the back surfaces.
○ This is caused when the layers of air separate away from the surface and begin to
swirl – this is called turbulent flow
○ The swirling motion of air (or other fluids) caused as an object moves through it.
Turbulent flow is created when the airflow separates from the surface of an object
○ It's also called as Form drag
○ It contribute 55 to 60 % of total drag
○ Depends on longitudinal section of vehicle body
○ And this confirms that selection of body profile is important for low drag
○ Pressure drag can be minimized by streamlining body exposed to air flow
 Air resistance opposing a vehicle in motion
❖ Refer text or note
 After flow wake
❖ It is turbulent volume of air created at rear end of a forward moving car
❖ Region of recirculating flow after the body that's behind the body which is a
disturbed flow
❖ Mainly turbulent
❖ Boundary layer separation happens in this region
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 Drag Coefficient (CD)
❖ It is the measure of the effectiveness of a streamline aerodynamic body
shape in minimizing air resistance to forward motion of a vehicle.
❖ A low drag coefficient makes the streamline shape of vehicles body to move
easily with reduced resistance.
❖ The poor streamlining of body causes a high drag coefficient and have high
air resistance when vehicle is in motion
Drag coefficient for various types of vehicles

Vehicle Type CD

Light van 0.3 - 0.5

Sports Car 0.28 - 0.4

Saloon car / sedan car 0.2 - 0.4

Buses 0.4 - 0.8

 Drag coefficient and various body shapes

1. Circular Disc
● Air flow have an immediate end on pressure difference
● Flow separation takes place in disc edge
● Gives large vortex wake
● High drag coefficient = 1.12
●
2. Cube
● Air flow is head on
● Boundary layer around side delays flow separation
● Have large vortex wake
● High coefficient of drag = 1.05
●
3. Sixty degree cone
● Air flows towards cone apex
● It spreads outwards parallel to the shape of cone surface
● Drag coefficient is 0.5
●
4. Sphere
● Air is flown towards the sphere
● Air is later diverted
● There is slight reduction in the vortex wake
● Coefficient of drag is 0.47
●
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 Base Drag
● The negative vortex pressure generated is called as base drag
● Base drag occur at area where flow separation occurs i.e base area
● While designing a car a taper slightly towards the rear end is followed to
reduce the effect
● Due to this flow separation happen beyond the rear axle
●
 Vortices
● Swirling air mass in a annular cylindrical shape
● At the periphery rotary speed is minimum and increases gradually such that at
the center speed is maximum
● Such that rotation is happening pressure within vortex is lower than
atmospheric pressure
● There is high pressure difference between outer surface and inner surface
● These types are formed around the vehicle body surface and ultimately these
are reason for creation of drag specially trailing vortex drag in a vehicle.
 Trailing vortex drag
● When a car moves through a air mass, it pushes the air and these air is moved
between spaces under body and ground and over the upper body profile surfaces.
● Air pressure is higher in under body air stream and lower at top surfaces air
stream.
● These air streams interact along the side to top profile edges on the opposite
sides of the body to form inward air rotary motion, which continues to some
distance back of the vehicle for forward moving car.
● This creates a negative pressure in wake of trailing vortices at the rear of the car
and resistance is created for the forward motion is called as trailing vortex drag.
● That's why rear design is important to avoid vortices or reduce vortice formation.
 Attached Transverse vortices
● These are vortices generated by separation bubbles
● Separation bubble is occured due to strong adverse pressure gradient
(pressure rise along the surface), which makes the laminar boundary layer to
separate from the curved airfoil surface
● These are formed between bonnet and front windscreen and rear wind screen
and boot panel
● The front vortex is created in between bonnet and front windscreen and later
they stretch along the side windows and to rear. Similarly side vortex is also
created
● If the attached vortices due to boot and rear light panel is over spilled which
will combine with secondary transverse vortices to enlarge main trailing
vortices.
 Aerodynamic Lift
★ Lift Coefficient
○ It is a measure of variation in pressure created above and below a vehicles body
○ Dimensionless term
○ It depends on vehicle body shape
○ Its of both positive and negative
○ Positive lift make vehicle to lift from the surface and reduces the tyre to ground grip
○ Negative lift increases tyres adhesion with the road
○ Its value should be minimum
 Vehicle Lift
❖ When a vehicle moves through the air stream, the air moving over the vehicle
body i.e upper surface of the body have to move larger distance and air
moving downward have to move comparatively smaller distance and this
direct slower moving underside and indirect moving top air stream generates
a high pressure underneath the car.
❖ The resultant vertical pressure generated between upper and under surfaces
results in net lift or upthrust, and reduction in tyre to ground grip.
❖ This lift magnitude depends on style / design profile, distance under the floor
and vehicle speed.
❖ This tends to increase with square of vehicle speed.
❖ Slip angle also depends on the variation in lift created in front and rear and
thus it will not be equal.
❖ This create balancing and handling problem that's steering inability.
❖
Underbody floor height vs Aerodynamic lift & Drag
❖ The car body is subjected to a negative lift force with a large underfloor to
ground clearance is high ground clearance
❖ As the ground clearance become lower the underfloor space acts like a
venturi and this causes the air to move faster under the body
❖ But further reduction in the ground clearance restrict the airflow
❖ Negative lift for vehicle with high ground clearance and positive lift for vehicle
with low ground clearance
Aerofoil Lift and Drag
 Front end nose shape
❖ By Changing front end nose shape the drag coefficient can be reduced.
❖ For downward nose profile the larger air flows on the upper side but only
small amount of air flows below the lower side of vehicle body..
❖ In a central nose profile air mass movement on the upper and lower surfaces
are approximately equal.
❖ In a upturned nose profile larger air mass movement is on downward side. In
the upper side there is smaller amount of air mass.
 Car body drag reduction
★ There is various methods that can be done to reduce the car body drag.
★
■ Profile edge rounding
■ Bonnet slope and windscreen rake angle
■ Roof and side panel cambering
■ Rear side panel taper
■ Under body rear end upward taper
■ Rear and tail extension
■ Underbody roughness
 Profile edge rounding
★ If the edge radius / chamfer increases the aerodynamic lift and drag will
decrease
★ Drag coefficient is reduced from 0.43 to 0.4 in rounded and chamfered edge
nose
★ For larger radius the minimum value of drag coefficient is obtained
 Bonnet slope and windscreen rake angle
★ By increasing the bonnet slope angle the drag coefficient is reduced to
minimum value
★ CD is reduced drastically for larger windscreen rake angle
 Roof and body side panel cambering
★ Roof cambering and side panel cambering reduces the C D
 Rear side panel taper
★ CD is reduced by tapering inwards the rear side panel.
★ A marked reduction in CD is happened with both 50 mm and 125 mm rear end
contraction on either side of the car.
 Under body rear end upward taper
★ By varying diffuser angle the CD can be reduced
★ By selecting the length of taper to overall car length and diffuser angle is
important
 Rear and tail extension
★ As tail extension increases CD is reduced to minimum 0.11
★ Smaller the tail extension CD value is not reduced than 0.3
 Underbody roughness
★ For smaller ground clearance if the roughness value increases then C D will be
increased
★ For larger ground clearance value minimum CD is obtained
 Aerodynamic lift control
★ There are various ways to control the aerodynamic lift
■ Underbody dams
■ Exposed wheel air flow pattern
■ Partial enclosed wheel air flow pattern
■ Rear end spoiler
■ Negative lift aerofoil wings
 Underbody dams
★ Rear end underfloor air dams increases underfloor air pressure and increases
the lift
★ Front end underfloor air dams decrease the air flow pressure and an negative
lift is produced
 Exposed wheel air flow pattern
★ When a wheel rotates for some distance on the ground due to viscosity air
attaches to itself to the tread and surrounding air is dragged around with it.
★ In the lower region of the wheel the flow of air is stagnant and majority of air
stream is flown against the wheel rotation.
★ This will separate the vortex rim and allows flow toward the rear and a series
of turbulent vortex is created.
★ With increased rotational wheel speed point of separation is is moved forward
slowly.
★ The air pressure will give a positive pressure built up in the stagnant air flow
front region
★ Exposed wheel reduces this effect
 Partial enclosed wheel air flow pattern
★ The air flow under the cars front initially moves faster than mainstream which
reduces local air pressure
★ The entrapped air in the wheel arch cavity circulates towards the upper front
of wheel due to a slight pressure built up
★ Then it is expelled through the front end wheel to mudguard gap which is a
lower pressure in both downward and sideward direction
 Rear end spoiler
★ A small aerofoil spoiler is attached to the car boots rear end
★ Spoiler interrupts the smooth streamline air flow and slowdown the airflow
and increase the upper surface air pressure
★ This will raises the downward force known as negative lift
★ But drag force increase marginally
 Negative lift aerofoil wings
★ A negative aerofoil wing is attached to the rear end of the car to generate
downward thrust
★ This enables the traction generated by the rear driving wheels to be increased
level
★ In negative lift aerofoil wings aerofoil wings are tilted downward towards the
front end
★ This will produce the effect created by a normal positive aerofoil used in
aeroplanes to generate lift
★ There will be resultant down thrust perpendicular to aerofoil chord
★ This is resolved in to both vertical downforce negative lift and horizontal drag
force
★ By enlarging the tilt angle of the wing more negative lift is produced
 After body drag
1. Squareback Drag
a. When the rear end slope surface angle of car is ranging between 90 degree to 50 degree is
called as square back style
b. In this style cars there is no variation in afterbody drag because the whole base are in the
parallel sided square bac rear and this configuration results in a low negative pressure wake
region
c. This low pressure is lowered by tapering the rear quarter side and roof of the body
2. Fastback drag
a. Fastback style is when the rear slope of a car is reduced to 25 degree or less than that
b. In this type air flows over the roof and rear downward sloping surface
c. In this type styled vehicle as the inclined angle at the rear end decrease drag coefficient also
decreases
3. Hatchback Drag
a. Hatchback style is when the rear sloping angle of cars are ranging from 25 degree to 50
degrees
b. The air flows over the rear edge of the roof and begins to follow the contour of the rear
inclined surface
c. Drag occurring is called as hatchback drag are due to side vortex and trailing vortex
4. Notchback Drag
a. A notchback car style have a stepped rear end body profile. In this passenger compartment
rear window is inclined downwards
b. The drag coefficient increases as the slope angle is increased up to 25 degree
c. After this angle the drag coefficient is reduced